The Forestry officials, along with police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division seized sawn pieces of timber valued at about B60,000 at the site, located in the hills on Phra Barami Soi 7.
Boonlarp Suksai, Chief of the Royal Forestry Department Region 12 Office in Krabi, explained that the raid followed a tip-off.
Officers first inspected the site last Wednesday (25), and found many trees cleared in the area, Mr Boonlarp said.
Officers checked maps of the area and confirmed that some of the trees felled were cut down in the adjoining protected forest area, he added.
“A large number of different types of trees have been cut down and the wood that has been cut has been used for processing,” Mr Boonlarp explained.
Officers had checked with the Phuket branch of the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro), which oversees all SorPorKor land on the island, and confirmed that the SorPorKor plot involved is currently rated to allow the growing of fruit and rubber trees only, he noted.
The evidence seized in the raid supported the prosecution of criminal charges for breaches of the Forest Act B.E. 2484 and the National Reserved Forests Act 1964, Mr Boonlarp explained.
“After officers have completed their thorough investigation they will inform the Patong Police to locate the offender and proceed with legal proceedings,” he said.
Mr Boonlarp declined to give any names of any key suspects.
He also did not clarify whether any persons had been granted SorPorKor rights to the land, or whether the land was still registered as held vacant directly under the Phuket Alro office.
Jor12 | 02 December 2020 - 15:43:39